GUESTS

JESSY MOUSSALLEM

During her childhood in Beirut, the young Lebanese filmmaker spun stories while watching people in traffic, imagining their lives and conversations.

Jessy Moussallem pursued her inclination for storytelling in film school at the Lebanese Academy of Arts, finishing as valedictorian of her class in 2010 with a short film that also won first prize at the European Film Festival.

After completing several filmmaking workshops in Paris and Barcelona, she returned to Beirut determined to follow through with her talent with a tribute to friendship sublimated by dance. The inspired project in hand, she quickly located a fashion brand to collaborate with, shooting her film “Danse à deux temps” in Lebanon with a shoestring budget and crazy energy. Jessy puts the film online on Vimeo and in a few hours “Danse à deux temps” was staff picked – the first award of its kind in Lebanon!

Recently, she wrote and directed a music video for pop band Mashrou’ Leila – a narrative that included one hundred women in an ode to the strength and grace of ongoing feminist action in the Middle East. Again, the video was chosen for staff pick, trended as number one on youtube, and received international recognition.

In this young woman, rich in eastern and western contrasted experiences, passion and determination prevail. Elegance and mastery characterize her work’s fluid completion, full of emotion and freedom.